Economy Overview
Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard of living, is closely tied to other EU economies, especially Germany's. Its economy features a large service sector, a sound industrial sector, and a small, but highly developed agricultural sector. Following several years of solid foreign demand for Austrian exports and record employment growth, the international financial crisis and global economic downturn in 2008 led to a sharp but brief recession. Austrian GDP contracted 3.9% in 2009 but saw positive growth of about 2% in 2010. Unemployment has not risen as steeply in Austria as elsewhere in Europe, partly because its government has subsidized reduced working hour schemes to allow companies to retain employees. Stabilization measures, stimulus spending, and an income tax reform pushed the budget deficit to 3.5% of GDP in 2009 and 4.7% in 2010, from only about 1.3% in 2008. The international financial crisis caused difficulties for Austria's largest banks whose extensive operations in central, eastern, and southeastern Europe faced large losses. The government provided bank support - including in some instances, nationalization - to prevent insolvency and possible contagion. In the medium-term all large Austrian banks will need additional capital. Even after the global economic outlook improves, Austria will need to continue restructuring, emphasize knowledge-based sectors of the economy, and encourage greater labor flexibility and labor participation to offset growing unemployment and Austria's aging population and low fertility rate.
Agriculture Products
grains, potatoes, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber
Industries
construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, metals, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism
Industrial Production Growth Rate
6.7% (2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 61
Labor Force
3.611 million (2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 95
Electricity production
62.98 billion kWh (2009 est.)country comparison to the world: 41
Electricity Consumption
65.67 billion kWh (2009 est.)country comparison to the world: 39
Electricity Exports
18.76 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Electricity Imports
776 million kWh (2009 est.)
Unemployment Rate
6.9% (2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 66 7.2% (2009 est.)
Population Below Poverty Line
6% (2008)
Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share
Lowest 10%: 4%
Highest 10%: 22% (2007)
Distribution of Family Income Gini Index
26 (2007)country comparison to the world: 136 31 (1995)
Budget
Revenues: $183 billion
Expenditures: $200.6 billion (2010 est.)
Public Debt
72.3% of GDP (2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 25 69.8% of GDP (2009 est.)
Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate
Stock of Narrow Money
$172.1 billion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 19 $181.5 billion (31 December 2009 est.) note: see entry for the European Union for money supply for the entire euro area; the European Central Bank (ECB) controls monetary policy for the 17 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of money circulating within their own borders
Stock of Broad Money
$401.7 billion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 22 $427.4 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of Domestic Credit
$659.2 billion (31 December 2009 est.)country comparison to the world: 22 $606.2 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Market Value of Publicly Traded Shares
$118 billion (31 December 2010)country comparison to the world: 39 $107.2 billion (31 December 2009)$72.3 billion (31 December 2008)
Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold
$22.28 billion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 55 $18.05 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Debt External
$883.5 billion (30 June 2011)country comparison to the world: 17 $755 billion (30 June 2010)
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment at Home
$259.4 billion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 19 $286 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment Abroad
$269.5 billion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 18 $290.9 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Exchange Rates
euros (EUR) per US dollar -0.755 (2010)0.7198 (2009)0.6827 (2008)0.7345 (2007)0.7964 (2006)
